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Merger Body Success For Dance

A Life In Dance In March it was announced that Arts Council England has awarded a major grant for a new strategic dance body. The three year commissioned grant for a ground-breaking consortium will bring four leading dance organisations together to create a unified “go-to” industry body: Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD), Dance UK, National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA) and Youth Dance England (YDE).

This radical transformation is a response to industry demand, affecting both workforce and the support of talent. As a result, the combined impact of these organisations will be much greater than they can achieve as stand-alone bodies. ADAD, Dance UK, NDTA and YDE will pool their expertise to result in a simplified, strengthened and specialist partnership body nurturing and developing talent and delivering excellence in: education; youth dance; dance of the African diaspora; performance, health and well-being; management, leadership and career development. This will become the subject discussion for dance to further the teaching and learning of dance in schools, embedding education at the heart of the dance sector.

The consortium will support a more coherent national approach to the delivery of dance services and will encourage development across the spectrum, from children and young people’s dance, to professional dance practice and being representative of diversity. This new collaborative working model will directly benefit the 40,000 plus dance workforce, and children dancing in and outside school, and indirectly impact on the millions of adults who participate in dance and watch performances. It will provide a single more powerful voice for dance to policy makers and politicians and a centralised knowledge hub, which is ultimately important for the developing arts sector, to promote best practice and nurture talent.

As a result, children and young people’s dance will be central to the work of the new organisation – as well as providing resources for their teachers – bringing together all areas of the dance sector to support young people right from their first steps. The new organisation will create many more exciting and progressive opportunities for young people and dance professionals.

Cohan At 90

Robert Cohan At 90 The end of March saw the iconic Robert Cohan CBE, the father of British contemporary dance, celebrate his 90th birthday. As part of the celebrations, The Place announced the inaugural Cohan Lecture and re-launch of the Cohan Scholarship at the gala event on Thursday 26 March, and again on Friday 27 March when the event was open to the public too. The special gala event celebrated the immense contribution the legendary choreographer continues to make to dance in the UK, premiering a new work choreographed for 2015 on Liam Riddick of Richard Alston Dance Company.

The Place’s lecture series aims to cultivate lively debate around topical issues, named as the Cohan Lectures, in honour of the lively and enquiring mind of its founding Artistic Director and Patron, Robert Cohan. The first of these, entitled ‘What Matters?’, will see two of the great creative thinkers of our time, Sir Ken Robinson and Cohan, debate this question on Thursday 11 June at The Place. The lectures will run annually, inviting high profile speakers from a broad range of industries and backgrounds to continue this debate.

The re-launched Cohan Scholarship aims to support driven, talented students at London Contemporary Dance School who are in their final year, at the brink of their professional careers, to realise their potential. With donations made by supporters and guests in advance of the event, over £18,000 has already been raised, and the fund is now open for future donations. The scholarship is a way of making sure talents are excelled and potentials as independent artists are realised. The Cohan Scholarship will be awarded annually to students from London Contemporary Dance School’s BA Hons programme to support their training. The scholarship will support named students with exceptional potential in performance.

Amazon For Tickets!

Amazon Logo Amazon has upped its presence in the theatre marketplace recently, announcing it will now sell theatre tickets, becoming further involved with the artistic industry. As a giant global retailer, Amazon appears to see UK theatre – and specifically the West End – as an area into which it can expand.

Despite some cynicism, its entry into the arts could potentially be completely transformative for theatres. Amazon has previously been involved in the area of book publishing, for example, so this is not its first dabble into the arts. It is unlikely that the association of Amazon with the arts would be detrimental; ultimately Amazon will bring a whole new market for theatre tickets, as its customers are hugely global.

Amazon has a huge database to promote the arts and theatre tickets to, and this would also be significantly more diverse than the data of traditional ticket sellers. It is also a master in terms of ease of purchase with its one-click model – something that theatre ticketing websites have often struggled with, so it will be interesting to see these developments as they occur.

For tourists, theatre – particularly in London’s West End – is a huge magnetic pull. For many foreign visitors, it is one of the principal reasons they visit the capital city, in order to experience some of the artistic wealth the London theatre scene offers. It is therefore promising to see mayor Boris Johnson recognising the crucial role theatre plays in making people want to visit the city. Proximity to arts and culture are important to many people, so it is important to recognise this effect as a whole, not just for London.

Shechter Junior

Hofesh Junior The internationally renowned Hofesh Shechter Company recently announced the launch of its new company, Shechter Junior. This new venture, providing resource for aspiring professionals, is an apprentice programme for talented, young dancers between the age of 18 and 25 years old. Shechter Junior emerged from Hofesh Shechter and his Company’s commitment to nurturing young artists and creating opportunities for them to gain professional experience in a financially challenged arts scene.

In the demonstration of numerous young talented dancers to Shechter, the decision was made to provide a solid training for them during the period between beginning vocational dance training and graduating, much like Rambert’s youth company Quicksilver. The young dancers will be mentored from longstanding Hofesh Shechter Company members, have access to world-class venues and the stability of an apprentice salary, all self-funded by Hofesh Shechter Company through international touring and other partnerships: a fantastic opportunity. The first dancers involved in the scheme hail from a number of different countries, expanding the reach of the arts and providing for more and more people.

Shechter Junior will make its world debut at at Theatre des Abbesses in Paris this May, with a performance of deGeneration at Theatre des Abbesses (4-20 May), marking the start of a European tour. During their eight month apprenticeship the dancers will also work with Shechter on the creation of a new piece and perform alongside Hofesh Shechter Company in a special event, ‘Hofesh Shechter & Friends’ at HOME, Manchester’s new arts centre. Much hard work is required of the dancers, but the outstanding training and support they will receive as a result is second to none.

From May to November, the deGeneration international tour will take place, in addition to other engagements (venues to be announced).

Dance To The Edinburgh Festival!

The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its 2015 programme, including some exciting dance highlights. These include Sylvie Guillem, Israel Galván, Zürich Ballet and Les Ballets C de la B. This year’s festival runs from 7-31 August, and is an artistic delight for all culture vultures.

Les Ballet C de la B will dance Alain Platel and Frank Van Laecke’s En Avant, Marche!, a work which starts in the rehearsal room of an amateur brass band in Flanders. Ballet Am Rhein will dance Martin Schläpfer’s Seven, set to Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, and the iconic Guillem will perform her farewell show, Sylvie Guillem – Life in Progress. In addition, Galván will dance Lo Real, which explores the plight of the Roma and Sinti people in fascist Spain in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Festival provides a huge variety of artistic offerings to those who descend upon the city during the summer. In terms of dance 2015 is an important year, especially for those hoping to catch Guillem performing for the last time. Guillem will also be performing at Sadler’s Wells and the Birmingham Hippodrome as part of her farewell tour.

Also at the Edinburgh Festival, Zürich Ballet will perform a double bill of company director Christian Spuck’s Sonett which uses speech and music by Mozart and Philip Glass to explore Shakespeare’s sonnets, in addition to Wayne McGregor’s Kairos, set to Max Richter’s reimagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with designs by Idris Khan. TAO Dance Theatre will perform Weight x 3, created by its founder Tao Ye to music by Steve Reich. Richter will also perform his Vivaldi work in concert with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. There will also be a dance element in a new production of Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro, conducted by Iván Fischer with choreography by Veronika Vámos.

Public Square Dancing In China

It has recently been reported that the millions of people who gather to dance in China’s public spaces will have to keep time with government regulations in future. In a country where censorship and strict regulations are in place as the norm, it seems this could spell the end for public square dancing in China, simply providing citizens with a small artistic outlet for themselves in a public space.

Public square dancing is a popular pastime in China, particularly among older women known as ‘damas’. However damas are considered a nuisance among some local residents, who complain about being disturbed by loud music: while this may echo various other forms of dancing all over the world, it seems this element of Chinese culture may slowly be reduced to nothing.

As a result of the complaints, Chinese authorities have begun to regulate and choreograph the dancing, which has been reported by the state-run China Daily website. Any groups wanting to dance in public will now be limited to 12 government-approved routines, which reads unnecessary censorship and control like nothing else. Despite the fact square-dancing represents a collective aspect of Chinese culture, it seems that the over-enthusiasm of participants has lead to the disputes over noise and venues.

The General Administration of Sport is overseeing the regulation along with the culture ministry, to ‘guide it with national standards and regulations.’ The choreography has been put together by an expert panel, the website says, and more than 600 instructors have been trained, in order to see the dancing performed in a socially responsible way – to a Western culture this discounts many of the artistic endeavours seen during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Some details are still to be confirmed, including when and where people are allowed to dance, and exactly how loud the music can be.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Emerging Dancer 2015

English National Ballet Emerging Dancer 2015 The winner of English National Ballet’s 2015 Emerging Dancer Award – the company’s sixth competition – was Jinhao Zhang. Zhang, who joined the Company just last year after graduating from English National Ballet School, performed the Dying Swan which he choreographed himself, and also a pas de deux from Don Quixote with fellow nominee and English National Ballet School graduate Isabelle Brouwers. The evening also saw Laurretta Summerscales named as the recipient of The People’s Choice Award, voted for by members of the public throughout the 2014/2015 season.

The annual competition, held at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, was judged by an esteemed industry panel: Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, Michael Nunn OBE and William Trevitt OBE (BalletBoyz), Wayne Sleep OBE, Didy Veldman and English National Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. The judges had a hard task on their hands in their requirement to select a winner from such huge talent and strong performances on stage.

The competition allows English National Ballet to recognise and nurture talent and encourage excellence in the Company. The other finalists for 2015 were Anjuli Hudson, Jeanette Kakareka, Katja Khaniukova, Vitor Menezes and Max Westwell, all of whom performed admirably. The finalists are voted for by English National Ballet’s dancers, Artistic team, orchestra and administrative staff, and then perform in front of a panel of eminent judges. The Emerging Dancer Award winner is announced together with the recipient of the People’s Choice Award, which is voted for by members of the public throughout the year.

Before the winners were announced, last year’s joint Emerging Dancer Award winners, Junor Souza and Alison McWhinney, performed a pas de deux from Liam Scarlett’s No Man’s Land: Junor, who also won the 2014 People’s Choice Award, has since been promoted to First Soloist and performed Principal roles in Swan Lake and Nutcracker. Alison has since been promoted to First Artist.

Balletposition.com

Former dancer and ballet teacher Ian Knowles has created a website comparing dancers’ pay and conditions across the world, launched to inform young dancers starting their careers. The site is named balletposition.com and appears to be the first of its type. It is to be used to compare useful data for dancers looking to join ballet companies in the UK, Western and Eastern Europe and the US, to be used as both a database and a resource.

Knowles has created the website with the view to inform newly graduated dancers of things that should be considered as they enter the world of work, based on feedback from dancers who have ‘been there, done that, and got the floor burns’. The current information on the website is valid for the current 2014/15 season and will be updated season to season as required.

There is much information to be found on the balletposition website, for dancers on a ‘need to know’ basis. Knowles consequently aims to inform them about basic rates of pay, and what to expect living as a dancer in various different countries. It is an informative, rather than negative, picture which is painted by the website, as it aims to be positive about joining companies, and inform about contracts and what to expect from them.

Most human actions are carried out based on recommendation, so the balletposition website is in good stead to provide viewpoints which will resonate with new dancers entering the dance industry. Whilst many dancers may have largely differing experiences, it is useful to hear word from someone who has had been in direct contact with the company a dancer may join one day.

The site also includes information on tax rates, pension schemes, holidays and available healthcare, which can often be difficult information to find.

McQueen stars announced

McQueen at the St James Theatre The world premiere of the imminent new play “McQueen” is set for 12 May at St. James Theatre, London. It will map a journey into the visionary imagination and dark world of fashion designer Alexander McQueen, set on a single London night. More than a bio-play, it steps onto the landscape of McQueen’s mind, seen in his fashion shows, where a dress can make an urchin become an Amazon, where beauty might help to survive the night.

A girl has watched McQueen’s Mayfair house for eleven consecutive days; the play sees her climb down from her watching tree and break into his house, to steal a dress and become someone special. He catches her, but, instead of calling the police, they embark on a journey through London and into his heart. McQueen will be directed by John Caird, with production design by David Farley, choreography by high-rising choreographer Christopher Marney, video design by Tim Bird, lighting design by David Howe and sound design by John Leonard.

Award-winning actor Stephen Wight takes on the title role of Lee McQueen and Dianna Agron will play Dahlia in James Phillips’s play. It will also star Tracy-Ann Oberman as Isabella Blow, Laura Rees as Arabella, and David Shaw-Parker as John Hitchcock.

Wight was named Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Awards for his performances in Michael Grandage’s production of Don Juan in Soho and Samuel West’s production of Dealer’s Choice. Other theatre includes Nicholas Hytner’s production of The Habit of Art at the National and Sean Foley’s production of The Ladykillers in the West End.

Critically acclaimed actress Agron’s breakthrough role was playing Quinn Fabray on the hit series Glee. Most recently, Agron was seen opposite Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer in the film The Family, directed by Luc Besson. This year, she will appear in several films, including the romantic comedy Tumbledown opposite Jason Sudeikis and Rebecca Hall, Bare directed by Mark Polish, Zipper opposite Patrick Wilson, and the independent ensemble Conspiracy on Jekyll Island.

Matilda The Musical Relaxed

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s record-breaking production of Matilda The Musical is set to stage its second relaxed performance at London’s Cambridge Theatre in June this year. The specially adapted performance of the hit musical will take place on 14 June, offering full access to theatre and providing a special experience for those who may not usually have the opportunity to attend musicals.

Designed for individuals with autism spectrum conditions, learning disabilities and other sensory and communication disorders, relaxed performances are modified to create a supportive atmosphere for the audience. These include adjusting light and sound level, providing designated ‘chill-out’ areas and demonstrating an understanding attitude towards audience noise and movement.

Matilda The Musical brings Roald Dahl’s classic story to life on stage, charting the tale of a young girl with loathsome parents and an intimidating headmistress who discovers a very special talent. Following 2014’s sold-out relaxed performance, it is great news that there will be a second relaxed performance, almost a year after the first. It is hoped that this becomes a more regular event and is also adopted by other musical companies.

The RSC is said to be planning to present more of these performances across as many of its productions as possible following positive feedback from its audiences. These specially tailored performances are a welcome addition for those audience members who have autism or other disabilities and who find it hard to attend live theatre, and for their families too. The inclusive welcome and relaxed atmosphere give everyone the chance to come and experience the work, and enjoy it too.

Trips to the theatre can pose enormous challenges, however productions – such as Matilda – which are tailored to special audiences and their sensory needs mean whole families can experience theatre together without the usual added pressure of other audiences.